Cast Bullet Association Blog Rss Feedhttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/Rss2_.aspxRss 2.0 for the user blogs.en-usFri, 25 Sep 2026 12:10:12 GMTCast Bullet Associationchefreiss@gmail.com(Cast Bullet Association)info@morganids.com (Richard Morgan)360Some Additional Remarks Regarding Accuracyhttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/8/107/some-additional-remarks-regarding-accuracy This article appeared in the July/Aug 2005, #176 issue of the Fouling Shot and was written by CBA member, Karl Bosselman.Occasionally letters arrive to me and magazine articlescontinue to be publish....
This article appeared in the July/Aug 2005, #176 issue of the Fouling Shot and was written by CBA member, Karl Bosselman.

Occasionally letters arrive to me and magazine articlescontinue to be published revealing similar depressingaccounts of major-level disappointments in cast bulletaccuracy. Virtually none of these individuals mentionhaving slugged their barrel bores. Consequently, they’reusing a “stab-in-the-dark” approach which seldom worksout well. As most readers of this publication realize, ahuge mass of good cast bullet data is available for those who search. After all, cast bullet shooting has beenongoing for centuries, and we do know a great dealabout it.

Accurate cast bullet shooting is based upon threethings: knowledge, using common sense, and beingmethodical.

The primary component in top levels of consistentaccuracy in both cast bullet and jacketed bullet shootingis excellence in barrel quality. In addition, be it either19th Century single-shot and repeating firearms, or 21stCentury precision benchrest/target and autoloaders, slugthat bore, be it either factory-produced or handloadedammunition that’s involved. You must know the exactgroove diameter and you must know the exact riflingtwist rate. This latter most certainly for the Importantdecision(s) of helping to select your useable if not idealbullet weight(s). As most serious shooters and hunters know, as realizedthroughout the centuries,the heavier-weight projectilesalmost alwaysproduce best results forhunting performance(optimum trajectories totopmost and quite consistentterminal ballistics)to competition matchaccuracy especially asconcerns trajectory aswell as remaining powerat extreme range distancework. Another benefit exists in the tendency for the

With straight-grip butt stock and .45-70 chambered 22” round micro-grooved barrel,this is Marlin’s ‘recreation’ of their original Model 1895 that was discontinued in1915. This model has the round breech bolt and no asinine hammer-block ‘safety’which poses a definite danger for dangerous game hunters using such a rifle. Thismodel was produced from 1972 to 1979.

From left to right, (1) .416 (Frank C.) Barnes wildcat -the .45-70 U.S, Govt. case bottlenecked from .457” to.416” caliber. A very nice optional chambering forhunters using cast bullets and/or jacketed handloads.(2) .40-82-260 W.C.F. (circa 1885) - REM-UMC manufacture,This 260-gr. FNSP I consider too light for thecaliber (.406” bullet dia.), a 300 gr. is light enough(3) .40-72-300 W.C.F. (introduced 1895) - W.R.A.Co.manufacture. Optional factory loading was .40-72-330 with a blunt RNSP bullet. This cartridge is aclose relative to the subsequent .405 W.C.F (1904)using a 300 gr. RNSP bullet. HUNTINGTON, ofOroville, GA, lists in their catalog .40-72 W.C.F. barrelgroove diameters running from .403" to .412" SingleShot Rifle Journal staffer, Connor Duncan, states thiscartridge's bores as running from .403" to .408".

heavier-weight projectiles almost always produce best results for hunting performance (optimum trajectories to topmost and quite consistent terminal ballistics) to competition match accuracy especially as concerns trajectory as well as remaining power at extreme range distance work. Another benefit exists in the tendency for their longer shanks to be slightly more forgiving of minorbore imperfections, thus (slightly) enhancing levels ofconsistent accuracy over the lighter, stubbier bullets.As has always been the case throughout firearmsmanufacture, tooling constantly wears on an ongoingbasis and thus tolerances vary. Couple this with occasional,but, in present-day times more common, haphazardcraftsmanship and on-purpose barrel quality compromises(usually to reduce production cost) and you havean ideal recipe for disastrous levels of inaccuracy. The old statement (paraphrased), likely first grumbled in print many decades ago by some unqualified and/or biased gun writer, that “Micro-groove rifling will not shoot cast bullets accurately” is as patently ridiculous as the statements, “two-piece-stocked rifles are inaccurate,” and, “the only accurate rifles are turn bolts” (this rifle type this writer considers superbly ugly, an ergonomic monstrosity, and a type which over 95% of their owners cannot ideally stock for proper fit due to length of rearward bolt travel).


Not very long ago I built a unique Mid-Range “Creedmoor type” rifle based upon an early-production Ruger No. 1 action I finely tuned, fitted special stocks of my designs, and installed a top-of-the-line Match Grade chrome-moly Shilen “micro-groove” (8 lands, 8 grooves) barrel chambered in a one-of-a-kind wildcatted somewhat obscure vintage black powder cartridge not known for superb accuracy or high power. Case necks I expanded from .406” to .4l6” caliber which is today’s world standard .40 caliber dimension - .416”x.40-72 W.C.F. With shortened and fire-formed strong, modern cases (9.3x74R, RWS and Norma manufacture), and muzzle velocities running from about 1300 fps to about 2100 fps with 355-grain to 400-grain, custom bullets of different styles - all gas checked, painstakingly tailored handloads produce one-hole 100-yd. groups (5- to 10-round clusters) under ideal range conditions from my specially made quarter-ton bench. So…

1. Slug that bore
2. Be specific with your bullet(s) design(s) and weight(s)
3. Be exacting with your bullet alloys as to purpose(s)and velocity(ies), and exacting as to your bullet lubechoice(s) - which is also governed by your purpose(s)
4. Barrel bore dimensions must be consistent... hand-lapor fire-lap to achieve it. Mass-produced factory barrelsdefinitely tend to vary in internal dimensions
5. If your rifle is of production-grade, for top accuracydefinitely have it well tuned by a knowledgeable gunsmith familiar with its type and inherent idiosyncrasies.

The above five points constitute only the beginningapproach to fine cast bullet accuracy pursuits. •

]]>Tue, 22 Aug 2017 05:05:52 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/8/107/some-additional-remarks-regarding-accuracyCast Bullets Turn the .32 ACP Into a Bunny Busterhttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/8/106/cast-bullets-turn-the-.32-acp-into-a-bunny-buster * - Editor's note: due to the original formatting of the load data table, it was omitted from this reprinting. This article was written by CBA member Ed Harris and appeared in the March/April 2....
* - Editor's note: due to the original formatting of the load data table, it was omitted from this reprinting.

This article was written by CBA member Ed Harris and appeared in the March/April 2007 #186 issue of the Fouling Shot.

OK children, today's cast bullet trivia question is …Who was J.V.K. Wagar? No, he was not a writer of children’s fiction depicting Norse mythology. If you Google Mr. Wagar you’ll find that he was a Colorado forester who was active in the Wildlife Society of Colorado A&M University and various professional organizations into the mid 1950s. Of note for CBA members is that he wrote an article which appeared in the August, 1931 issue of The American Rifleman on pgs. 14-15, entitled “Almost, the Best Small Pistol.” If you own a .32 automatic you really must read it. If you don’t own a .32 ACP, I urge you to read the article anyway. If you do, you may just find yourself buying a .32 pocket pistol years later, in fondly recalling the article. That’s exactly why I did.

J.V.K. Wagar and a cottontail potted with his .32 ACP

Let’s be clear that the .32 ACP is not my choice as a defense gun against either two-legged or four-legged predators. However, there are times when “any gun is better than no gun.” Because I can carry legally in my home state of Virginia, and West Virginia, where I have a vacation home recognizes my permit, I do so most of the time. It is also true that many social and recreational occasions require that I do so discreetly, lest I “scare the natives.” When or where the cylinder bulge of my usual D-frame Colt .38 Special is too obvious, a .32 automatic drops nicely into a pocket holster. I also like the fact that it makes a bigger hole than a .22 and still presents a low profile.

I feel it is necessary to become thoroughly accustomed to and practice with any gun I carry. The .32 is convenient, accessible and practical to carry during woods-loafing hikes or overnights, which may present an opportunity to shoot small game for camp meat or plink a magazine or two at cans by firelight. You could just as easily do this with a .380 ACP or a 9x18 Makarov, but the .32 ACP’s appeal for me is that it uses the same components I have already for the .32 S&W Long and .32 H&R Magnum, my preferred trail guns.

While the .32 ACP has benefits from new variants in factory ammunition, US loads are more anemic than their European counterparts. Typical American FMJs feature a 71-gr. bullet at an advertised “catalog velocity” of 905 f.p.s. In my chronograph test they actually produce velocities of around 850 f.p.s. in the average pocket pistol. European RWS, Sintox, Geco, Fiocchi or Sellier & Belliot ammo really does clock 900 f.p.s. or so with a heavier 73-grain bullet, which functions the pistol right smartly!

My WWII-era Beretta and Mauser pistols steadfastly refuse to function with American ammo. The newly pop-ular 60-gr. JHPs, are a sure recipe for a “Jam-O-Matic,” regardless of their flavor. Only the Italian Fiocchi 60-gr. JHP at 1200 f.p.s. has enough pizzazz, from the first round loaded up the spout, to positively eject and reliably chamber a hardball or cast bullet load following in the magazine. But its exposed lead nose doesn’t permit rat-tat-tat-tat feeding any more than the anemic 900 f.p.s. American JHPs. Expansion from typical .32 autos is a sometime thing. Of all U.S. brands I water-jug tested, only the Speer Gold Dot opened up every time, but it just wouldn’t feed.

In over 30 years experience, I have found that the best small game load for a .32 ACP is assembled with a cast bullet, heavier than the issue FMJ, to produce a heavier recoil impulse, but at lower velocity, within normal pressures, which approximates the ballistics of the .32 S&W Long or .32 Colt New Police when fired from a revolver. We are talking about an 85 to 95 grain flat-nosed bullet launched at about 750-800 f.p.s. How I arrived at this conclusion takes us directly to Wagar’s article…

When I was fresh out of the Navy and an eager new NRA Staffer back in 1972, our Executive Editor Ken Warner asked me to assemble some cast bullet loads for an M1903 Colt Pocket Model .32 ACP. The first thought in my head was, “why the 􀀁&*􀀁%#!@ would anybody want to do THAT? The gun belonged to the late Harry Archer, who then worked for our government and was being sent out of the country clandestinely on our behalf. Harry needed some ammunition which would reliably function his old Colt, and was more effective than hard-ball, the only ammo available to us then.

Mauser HSc performs very well with cast bullet handloads.

When I asked why Harry was packing a .32 and not something more effective, I was informed politely that it was really none of my business, but that“when in Rome, you do as the Romans do.” Ken explained to me that if Harry took a .45 or a .357 it would be obvious that he was “not a local.” Since“the bad guys” where he was going normally used .32 automatics, while military and police carried various 9mms, the Colt would be discreet and also“blend in.” While an FN or Beretta would have been better, we didn’t have one. Walthers are “hand biters,” and not an option, so ending the conversation.Loading manuals were of little help, so I researched the NRA archives and stumbled upon Wagar’s article.

It was an entertaining treasure trove of practical information on the Colt pocket model and loading cast bullets for the .32 ACP. Wagar said that, “it has proved so useful for much of the outdoor shooting in our part of the country that … I frequently leave my heavier pistols and revolvers at home…

“This is not a deep wilderness side arm…, but as a light pistol to accompany the big rifle it has many advantages… one is never hampered by its weight and bulk and it need not be left behind because the way is hard and steep or the trail long…“The .32 Colt Automatic… is the biggest pistol that fits comfortably into ones pockets… and its owner isn’t often asked by some romance filled tourist if you are a real live cow-boy, so the hills are full of these pistols.”

“Practical accuracy is not of the spectacular kind… I can obtain quite good accuracy holding the pistol in both hands and resting them upon my knees I can hit a 50-cent piece practically with every shot at 20 yards. … is almost ideal for strictly small game shooting, we have shot many cottontails, grouse, squirrels…over 200 pieces of game in all—- and have found it unexcelled. It is just enough larger than a .22 Long Rifle to make it a more certain killer, yet destroys little more flesh and makes little more noise in the woods…cast bullets will give more killing power than the jacketed fac-tory bullets. They do not expand upon flesh, but rough-en when they strike bone and tear flesh rather than parting it.”


“If one has access to an Ideal No. 4 tool and mould for the .32 S&W he is well equipped… The .32 S&W bullet weighs 88 grains and its diameter of .313 inch is well adapted... I have loaded many hundreds of .32 A.C. cartridges with .32 S&W tools…If one shoots a high-powered .30 caliber rifle Marbles adapters using the .32 A.C. cartridge can be used for small game shooting or one can use the .32 A.C. cartridge in the Winchester adapters made for firing .32 S&W cartridges in the .30-30, .30-40 and .30-‘06 rifles.

The custom barrel machined for this 1935 Beretta made a night-and-day difference in accuracy.

“In closing, permit me to summarize: This is not a target arm, nor is it powerful enough for defenses purposes against great beasts or armed men of great virility; but considering its short length, light weight, light report and recoil, and cheapness of ammunition, one will have difficulty in finding a more accurate, more reliable and more powerful pistol just to take along.

”Moving our clock back to present era, Sandy Garrett at Northern VA Gun Works doesn’t get excited by very much. But recently he was. He told me that he never thought a .32 ACP could be accurate. He now knows better after test firing my Beretta 1935 pistol for which he made a new barrel to replace its original “salt & pepper” WWII-era one. It’s machined from a piece of .30 caliber Hart stain-less 14” twist, and chambered with a custom reamer I designed to headspace on the case mouth. It shoots very well for a pocket gun, 2-1/2” at 25 yards for an 8-round magazine of 1970s vintage German Geco 73-gr. hardball, hand-held from sandbags, striking precisely to point of aim with the issue sights. He also did a trigger job so that it breaks at 5 pounds with a slight “roll” at let-off like a good .45 hardball gun, instead of the gritty 16 pounds that it originally did.

It is true that .32 ACP pocket guns don’t have a great reputation for accuracy. Speer’s loading handbook states that 3-4” at 25 yards is about the best you can hope for. This is in keeping with WWII German military and postwar German police acceptance accuracy standards which allowed 5 mils or 75mm of dispersion (about 3”) at 15 meters (approximately 49 ft.). Any pocket pistol which groups better than 4 mils, or 60mm (2.36”) at 15 meters is said by Europeans to be quite good. My experience with a number of pocket guns over the years suggests that any combination which reliably shoots 2” or less at 50 feet was a “keeper.” Almost any decent kit gun sized revolver, should shoot an inch at 50 feet, but pocket auto pistols which do this are rare birds.

The .38 Super Auto, despite its whiz-bang ballistics, was lackluster in the accuracy department until custom gunsmiths modernized the chamber design so that the cartridge head spaced on the case mouth, instead of the semi-rim. Modern IDPA and IPSC competition guns with custom barrels chambered this way shoot very well indeed.

So, strictly for academic curiosity, I wanted to see how well we could get a .32 ACP to shoot. JGS made my reamers and gages. This chamber has the minimum SAAMI chamber body, with a throat and origin of rifling based upon the form of the U.S. Cal. .30 M1 carbine chamber, but enlarging the forcing cone diameter to fit the larger .32 ACP cast bullets. Sandy machined my chunk of Hart barrel to fit my wartime M1935 Beretta. If you have to ask what this all cost, you cannot afford it. To me it’s worth every penny. My Beretta .32 now shoots as well as my Mauser HSc, accurate enough to assassi-nate WV bunny wabbits with head shots.

I sent John Taylor at Taylor Machine the reamer to make an 18” long .32 ACP rifle barrel to fit my 4.5 pound, take-down pre-war H&R single-shot .410, which doubles as an American-Style Rook Rifle. I don’t know anyone who has ever fooled with the .32 ACP in a rifle. You will need to stay tuned for that one. 􀀁


]]>Sat, 19 Aug 2017 10:10:07 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/8/106/cast-bullets-turn-the-.32-acp-into-a-bunny-busterWorking Up .22 Hornet Plain Base Loadshttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/8/105/working-up-.22-hornet-plain-base-loads This article written by CBA member, Grant Macomber of Applegate, CA was published in the May / June 2008 #193 issue of the Fouling Shot. The objective of this project was to increase ....
This article written by CBA member, Grant Macomber of Applegate, CA was published in the May / June 2008 #193 issue of the Fouling Shot.

The objective of this project was to increase myshooting pleasure by (1) developing accurate, easy tomake ammunition that would (2) make more use of theguns I had. The number of primers popped was not thesole measure of shooting pleasure.

Several years ago I was impressed with the resultsthat John Alexander and Guy McMurray had with the.223 Remington and .228î bullets (FS 94, November / December1991). Guy McMurray used the RCBS 22-060-FN bullet that was designed for the .22 Savage HighPower. His load with a pinch of 700X got 1329 f.p.s. and1.131" groups from a Ruger No. 1. That appealed to me.I did not have a Ruger No. 1, but I had a Handi Rifle in.45 Govt.

NEF makes the Handi Rifle in .223 Remington and.22 Hornet. I called NEF and learned that the Hornet barrelhad a 1 in 12î twist, same as the .223 Remington. The.22 Hornet was on my list of ìcanít live withoutî cartridges,so I ordered a Hornet barrel for my Handi Rifle, a mold for the RCBS 22-060-FN, a Lee collet die set,and Hornet brass. An old steel-tube Weaver K2.5 gavethe eye relief that I wanted for offhand shooting.

Casting the bullets using wheel weight metal plus 2%tin at 750°, the rejection rate was nil. Bullets came fromthe mold at 62 grains with bands .228" to .230". Theywere too large in diameter for the Lee dead length bulletseating die (made to handle .224" jacketed bullets), so Isized them in a .224" Lyman H&I die in a Lyman 450sizer-lubricator. The ammunition went together all right,but I was not enthused. Sizing to .224" was difficultbecause of the tendency of the bullet to tip, and it alsonullified the advantage, if any, of starting with a .228" bullet.After trying a few powders and even some jacketedbullets, and getting somewhat disappointing accuracy, Iset the Hornet aside for 10 to 12 years. Then I read JohnAlexander's article about 22's in Joseph Brennanís CastBullets for Beginner & Expert and got fired up again.

John noted that bullets must be at least .225" indiameter, so I could see nothing wrong with trying the.228-.230" bullets as cast. Letís call them .228". I hadbeen developing .30-30 loads with the same objective asstated above and found that the Lee dead length seatingdie shaved lead and crumpled cases when I tried to seat.309" cast bullets. I solved the problem for the .30-30 byusing my old RCBS seating die; it had plenty of wobbleroom for the cast bullets up to .311". The same approachwould have to be used for the Hornet, but I did not havean old Hornet die. I asked John Alexander and Ed Harrisabout it. The three of us were on the same track, and theeasiest solution was to have Lee Precision ream or lapthe dead length seating die for $20. I had been pleasedwith Lee Precisionís machine work before, so I sent thedie to Lee with sample bullets and an order for a FactoryCrimp Die, an expander die, and a Decapper and Base.The Decapper and Base would let me decap with a mallet.It seemed that neck sizing in the collet die would notbe necessary with .228" bullets.

My notes from years back noted that 5 grains of2400 gave ìpromising accuracyî with the 62 grain bulletswith plain bases. The velocity variation had probably discouragedme; 951 to 1207 feet per second, 1064 average,72 standard deviation. Bullets had not beencrimped in place because the Lee dead length seatingdie does not crimp.

I swished some bullets in Lee Liquid Alox anddumped them on waxed paper. They were ready to loadthe next day. Five grains of Alliant 2400 pushed the .228" plain base bullets over 1,600 fps without leading. Therewas little powder residue in the barrel. These bullets hadmaximum crimp. I was encouraged by the accuracy andenthused about the project.

The first variation tested was to compare accuracy ofas cast .228" bullets with bullets that had been sized in the .224" die. I made the two lots of ammunition as alikeas possible except for the difference in bullet diameter.Neck sizing in the Lee collet die seemed to provide asmuch bullet pull for the .224" bullets as the as-fired necksprovided for the .228" bullets; the Factory Crimp Die wasadjusted to return the outside diameter of the casemouths to the same diameter as before expanding thecase mouths for both the .224" loads and the .228" loads.No gas checks were used. The .228" bullets were theclear winner.

The second variation tested compared light crimploads with a heavy crimp using .228" bullets.

Test shooting was done with the fore end on a sandbag but no butt bag. The .228" bullets with light crimpproduced a rounded 10-shot group under 1" at first, butafter that the group dropped 1-1/2" and was irregular,spreading horizontally to 1-1/2" inches. The loads with aheavy crimp were more consistent. There was a littlelead in the barrel that came out easily in small flakes.There was quite a bit of bullet lubricant on the shouldersand necks of the cases.

I decided to use a faster-burning powder. SR4756was selected based on the fact that I had a canister of iton hand marked $2.75.

Cases were not sized but were decapped with theLee Decapper and Base. Ammunition was assembledwith WSP primers, .228" bullets with maximum crimp,and 2.8 grains of SR4756 for mean velocity of 1245 f.p.s.Accuracy was about 1-1/2" at 50 yards for round, 10-shotgroups with the low resolution Weaver K2.5 scope andmirage. I bumped the powder charge to 3.0 grains ofSR4756.

Better optics would have been nice for testing. CouldI use the old Tasco 8x scope in the low Weaver rings?The 1.509" objective bell just fit after I put the rear sightall the way down and had the scope pressed against thesight, which is spring-loaded, to force the rear sight allthe way down. The hammer also barely cleared thescope. I had to crawl up on the short eye relief scope abit, and this gave me cheek contact with the comb. TheWeaver K2.5 is a chin-mount scope.

The Tasco 8x cannot be focused, not for me at 50yards anyway, but it did allow me to hold tighter than Icould with the Weaver K2.5. It took two shots for me toremember that I had yet to sight in, and two more to sightin (bore sighting being a snap with a break-action rifle),so I shot four ten-shot groups. The temperature was onits way to 108°, and I wanted to be home for lunch, so Ileft it at four groups. Groups were well rounded. Thecases were clean. There was a good star on the crown.The four groups averaged 1.2", shrinking progressivelyas I caught on how to hold the rifle.

That was better than the results I have had with anyother load in either barrel, including jacketed Hornet bullets.The rifle would probably do better with good opticsand bag technique, and might benefit from a softer alloyand different forend tightness. It might not set anybenchrest records, but it might hold the .89î ten ring ofthe 50 yard smallbore target (.89" + .224" for the bulletdiameter = 1.114" for the groups). And, as I said to mywife when I got home, I had forgotten how much fun theHandi Rifle was.

Next I took off the scope and the base in order to useiron sights. The comb is sloped for iron sights, makingscope sights somewhat uncomfortable to use. The factoryopen rear sight put the bullets about .75" below pointof aim at 25 yards. A Williams Guide (or WGRS) peepsight set low put the bullets in the middle of a 6" bull at25 yards. Mission accomplished.

That was a couple of years ago. I am still shootingthe Hornet. The only problem with the .22 Hornet HandiRifle is that of running out of bullets! •


]]>Wed, 16 Aug 2017 07:51:08 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/8/105/working-up-.22-hornet-plain-base-loadsThe .32 Long Colt Projecthttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/8/104/the-.32-long-colt-project This article written by CBA member, Bradley C. Bish, was published in the Sept/Oct 2001 #153 issue of the Fouling Shot. From the Sunflower State to the Keystone State, from my great uncle, to my gra....
This article written by CBA member, Bradley C. Bish, was published in the Sept/Oct 2001 #153 issue of the Fouling Shot.

From the Sunflower State to the Keystone State, from my great uncle, to my grandfather, to my uncle and then to my father, this Model 92 Marlin has done a bit of traveling. Hopefully it will remain many more years in my gun safe before the next heir receives it. It is a .32 Long Colt caliber and the rifle is in surprisingly good condition and shoots very well as shall be noted a bit later.

I figured that it might be a challenge to shoot this obsolete cartridge, but I really didn’t know how true that thought was going to be! It came with half a box of factory ammo but I wanted to reload for it. Research indicated that it would take heel bullets or hollow base bullets but reloading data for this small cartridge is not readily available. I was very lucky to get new brass for it. I ordered 200 pieces in 1998 for a reasonable price; now I wish I had ordered an additional 300 pieces. Since that time, I have seen this brass listed at $1.00 per piece which equates to about $177.76 per pound for this Remington brass! Had I needed to pay that price for the new brass, the project would have ended then and there. Brass problem solved.

Now, I needed bullets. After a few inquires on the Internet to a couple of talk forums a source was discovered. A person in Wyoming made them from a Winchester mold dated to the turn of the century. One hundred of these small bullets arrived a week later. Bullet problem solved (temporarily).

Next, reloading data was needed. As previously mentioned, very little exists. From several sources, articles, and Handloader Magazine, it was determined that starting loads for the .32 Smith & Wesson Long or the .32 Colt New Police could be used. I found as many sources of data for these cartridges that I could and averaged the starting loads for each powder selected. Nine different powders were used; all produced good results, but one powder, Unique became my powder of choice for future reloading. Data problem solved.

A sizing die was also a problem. When the words custom-made appear on anything, the price is high. Knowing that the studs used to hold tires on large trucks are the same diameter and thread size of the 7/8 x 14 reloading dies, a thought entered. A local machinist was interested in what I was doing so he did the neces-sary lathe work to the stud. A hole of 19/64” was bored into one end of the stud. I then enlarged the diameter of this hole to approximately 0.315” inch using a wooden dowel rod with emery cloth attached to it. This I turned with a drill, stopping often to measure the diameter as it increased ever so slowly. Subtracting the thickness of the brass on both sides of the case, it sized the brass to have an inside mouth diameter of approximately 0.298 inch. This opening has proved to be right. Sizing die problem solved.

Now, the reloading and shooting began. Although the .32 LC is a rimmed case, the rim diameter is only a few thousands of an inch from being the same as the head of the rimless .223 Remington case. Any shellholder for the .223 Remington will work for the .32 LC case.And, any sizing die with a diameter larger than the .32 LC case and an expander plug less than the inside diameter of the .32 LC case mouth can be used to remove the primer.

I chose the.223 Remington sizing die because the shell holder was included with the die set and it met the other two requirements.Priming was done with a Lee Auto-Prime using a #4 shellholder. Winchester 6-1/2 -116 and CCI 500 primers were used.All the data for the Winchester bullets used Winchester primers; the N.E.I. bullets (more on these bullets later) used CCI primers. The rifle was made sometime at the very beginning of the 20th century. Exact years to correlate to Marlin serial numbers are difficult to find. Regardless, it has 6 grooves, a bore diameter of 0.303 inch and a groove diameter of 0.308 inch. The twist appears to be 1 in 22 or 24 inches.

.The bullets were from a Winchester mold and a mold (#78B) made by N.E.I. The Winchester bullets had a length of 0.558”, a diameter of 0.3129”, a heel diame-ter of 0.3014”, and a seating depth of 0.141”. They weighed an average of 89.5 grains with a SAECO hardness of approximately 5.5 or a BHN of 8 to 9. The N.E.I. mold I ordered knowing that my Winchester bullet supply would soon end and I would need to be able to produce my own bullets. Fourteen weeks after it was ordered, it arrived.

Loads shown in both trimmed and untrimmed cases.

It cast bullets of the correct diameter but the heel diameter was a bit small. So back to N.E.I. the mold went and within a week it was returned. The heel portion of the mold had been slightly enlarged and the bullets dropped from the mold with a length also of 0.558”, a diameter of 0.3120”, a heel diameter of 0.3005”, and a seating depth of 0.265”. They weighed an average of 97.6 grains. This was when they were cast from a 20 to 1 (lead to tin) alloy. These bullets have a SAECO hardness of 6.5 or a BHN of approximately 10.

When I first began reloading this little cartridge, I assembled several of the rounds with the recommended starting load and the Winchester bullets. I then tried them in the chamber and in the tubular magazine of the Model 92. The chamber fit was good, but they would not cycle from the magazine to the chamber, the length of the cartridge was too long. I remember reading an article and they indicated the cases need trimmed with some bullets to allow them to feed from the magazine to the chamber. Several of the cases were trimmed to 0.815” and this allowed for them to cycle properly. A few words of caution are in order at this point: If one uses the trimmed cases, only the starting charge of powder is recommended. And that may have only proved true in my particular rifle and not one that someone else might be using. I discovered this with the Unique powder and the N.E.I. bullets. A load of 2.5 grains seemed safe in this particular rifle but 3.0 grains began to show pressure signs on the cases and the 5-shot group also showed problems…keyholes were very obvious. A combination of the trimmed cases and the longer seating depth (heel) of the N.E.I. bullet is probably what leads to the excessive pressure. The case rims actually became somewhat out-of-round, the primers had deep indents, and a couple of the primers had a pin-sized hole in the center with black carbon deposits also noted. I later discovered that the N.E.I. bullets could be loaded into the untrimmed cases and they would cycle from the magazine to the chamber. Three grains of Unique in the untrimmed cases showed no signs of pres-sure problems.

All data and groups listed on the chart were fired with untrimmed cases that are 0.910” in length. The overall cartridge length with the Winchester bullet was 1.314” and with the N.E.I. bullet it was 1.192” The bullets were lubed with Lee Liquid Alox. I drilled 21/64” holes through a piece of 1/8” aluminum. The loaded rounds could then be place into these holes (the rim keeps them from falling through) and be dipped into a container of Alox that was the correct depth to only cover the bullets. The bullets were left to drip for a few minutes and then they were touched on a piece of paper towel. This removed the excess from the tip. Leading has not been a problem with these bullets and this rifle.

Firing 3.0 grs. of Unique in trimmed cases was too much!

A summary of events follows:

Untrimmed cases were used to shoot all groups at 20 yards, with the exception of the group that showed excessive pressure to the cases and the “keyholing” noted on the target. Case life appears to be very good as some of the cases have been reloaded and fired at least 10 times.

If trimmed cases are to be used, extreme caution should be used with powder charges. Even the starting loads listed may cause pressure problems in some firearms. They all appeared safe in my particular rifle.

Before the bullet was seated into the case, the case mouth was “very slightly” egg-shaped by pressing it against the reloading bench. This allowed the bullet/case to make a distinct “snapping” noise when the bullet was pushed into the case. Bullets were held in place fairly tight using this method.

Groups with the N.E.I. bullets were only tested with the powders that produced the best groups with the Winchester bullets.Velocities were chronographed at a distance of 5 feet from the muzzle.

All velocities listed are with Winchester bullets. Not shown in the chart is the velocity of the 3.0 grains of Unique and the N.E.I. bullet. This combination produced an aver-age velocity of 1130 fps. Yes, I checked and rechecked this velocity and it is what it is! Unique, CCI 500 primers, and the N.E.I. bullets are my choice for this rifle.The barrel of this rifle was cleaned using Sweet’s 7.62 and a bronze bore brush after every 10 rounds of ammo were fired.

It was an interesting and challenging project and an old firearm gets put back into use again. 􀀁

]]>Fri, 11 Aug 2017 02:32:30 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/8/104/the-.32-long-colt-projectThe .45-70 Short 1.575http://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/8/103/the-.45-70-short-1.575 This article written by CBA member, Rupert Wyble, was published in the Jan/Feb 2005 #173 issue of the Fouling Shot.Shooting cast bullets in the .45-70 at black powder velocities has always been an e....
This article written by CBA member, Rupert Wyble, was published in the Jan/Feb 2005 #173 issue of the Fouling Shot.

Shooting cast bullets in the .45-70 at black powder velocities has always been an enjoyable experience. It was to my great grandfather, grandfather, father, and is to me. Well my great grandfather might have disagreed with the term enjoyable experience from time to time in his early years, but for the most part we are a peaceable lot and pursue target shooting with cast bullets as a life long sport of choice.

The problem lies in the fact that I’m a smokeless powder shooter and the old case is just too big. I won’t rehash the .45-70 story, as it is probably more than most shooters can stand. Suffice to say for the past 40 years, I’ve tried most of the tricks: Corn meal, kapok, light bullets, duplex charges. I even changed the twist to 1-34 (.45-90) and shot 300-grain bullets exclusively. That’s another story. It shoots really well, but the 300-grain bullet runs out of steam before it gets out to a respectable .45-70 range. In the normal twist used for .45-70, about 1-20 give or take a couple, the problem is getting worse as I get older. These guns like heavy bullets.

Usually my .45-70 rifles like bullets over 400 grains and cast from No. 2 metal or a little softer. In some cases, 500 or even 600 grain bullets are the most accurate. Best velocity or should I say the most accurate velocity is somewhere between 1400 and 1650 f.p.s.

The word “best” indicates something is good. I find nothing good about sitting behind a rifle that is launching 500-grain bullets at 1650 f.p.s. When velocity is reduced to 1200-1300 f.p.s. with smokeless powder, it becomes much more enjoyable to shoot, although I start getting flyers due to poor ignition. I’ve gotten good accuracy using compressed charges of slow powder, but sweeping out the bore after each shot does not add to the shooting enjoyment, and I hate getting powder grains under the extractor.

What I needed was a shorter case, so after four generations of struggling with the .45-70 case size, a change was in order. I wanted a case just long enough to drive bullets of between 400 and 550 grains to speeds not over 1300 f.p.s. This should be done with bullets sitting firmly on a .060” cork wad; some shorter bullets require two wads. All loads have a small amount of compression. The powders I use in the .45-70 are generally IMR4227, IMR4198, and Accurate Arms 2015BR. Others work but these seem to work best for me. IMR4198 is probably the best with heavy bullets using charges between 25-35 grains, depending on bullet weight.

Even though the new case would be shorter, I decided to leave my preferred powders the same, starting on the lower side of what I had been using for safety. For case length, I first looked at the .45-70 x 1.5” or .45 Silhouette, but it was designed to shoot 300-grain bullets. It is a little short on powder space and throat. At 1.575” inches I got enough space to do the job. So it became the .45-70 Short 1.575”. Already having a Douglas premium 1-20” .45 barrel blank and a Ruger M-77 that I’ve modified for rimmed cartridges helped the project along. This is kind of a one way conversion for the M77 as the bolt face becomes different enough that you can’t go back to a rimless cartridge without a new bolt. It is doubtful, in my case, that this would be desired, as I’m quite pleased with this rifle/cartridge combination.

.With barrel, rifle, brass and a number of good heavy bullet moulds in hand, all I needed was a reamer. Not wanting to buy a custom reamer for such a simple conversion, I chanced upon a reamer specification sheet for the 458x2 inch from JGS Precision Tool in Oregon. According to the spec sheet, the first 1.575 inches of this reamer were in fact my .45-70 x1.575. Even the throat was pretty close to what I wanted. A quick call proved it was in stock and at a reasonable price.

One 200-yard (left) and two 100-yard targets shot in registered competition with the .45-70 Short 1.575”

The reamer worked perfectly with the exception of the rim cut which I made separately. (Before I get to the loading and shooting, a caution is in order. I don’t know if anybody else’s 458-2 inch reamer would work. I don’t even know if another one from JGS would work so well. Mine did. Of course, my project had a fallback. If the reamer didn’t work, I would build a .458x2 inch and keep my mouth shut.)

With the chamber complete, I turned to loading dies, to see what problems there would be. The answer to this question is none. My RCBS dies work perfectly. Remington brass works best as it is thicker and the sizing die snugs them down just the right amount. The expander, when adjusted all the way down is right on the money, and so is the seating die. This is a plus, not needing any special dies. Brass is a one step affair; cut it off. One added benefit is saving damaged or cracked neck cases. Now when a .45-70 case gets damaged, just cut off the crumpled or cracked neck and you’re back in business.

In the area of components, most of my regular .45-70 bullets, powder, primers, and brass worked fine. One set however, is shining above the rest, so that is the one I will discuss.

I use mostly Remington brass; it works best in my gun. The bullet which has come out on top is the heavy Saeco 540-grain bore-rider. I think it was designed for the .458 Winchester and seems to fit my gun’s throat very well. The powder for this heavy bullet is AA 2015 BR. It’s the hands down winner. Proper charge seems to be 28.6 grains behind a .060” cork wad with just a little compression. The only primers I use are Winchester Large Rifle magnum. Others may be good, but these work for me.

There is one fly in the ointment however; in going through a batch of cases, I will occasionally find a thin case or worse yet, one that is thin on one side. These must be removed or you will have fliers. My highly technical method for finding them, is just load them. If a bullet seats too easy, I set it aside. A careful inspection after firing will usually show a thin or out of round case.

I size all my bullets to .459” for this rifle and use SPG lube exclusively. I live in the desert; with high temperatures and low humidity, and SPG is the only lube I’ve found that will let me shoot all day in the summer without leading (in the big bores).

As mentioned before, I cast my bullets of No. 2 metal; making them any harder does not improve accuracy for .45 caliber the way it usually does in smaller bores.

Well, that’s about all there is to making up a rifle and ammunition. The proof is in the shooting and I’m well pleased with this combination so far. The M77 has a pretty well designed stock. The trigger is not bad and I cut the barrel fat enough to hold the recoil down. The rifle weighs in at a little over 12 pounds, so the heavy bullet load is easy to shoot. The velocity is estimated at about 1200 f.p.s. with the 28.6-grain AA 2015 BR load. If conditions are good and you do your part, sub minute of angle groups happen on a regular basis.

To prove to myself this set up could be used in a cast bullet match. I went over to Modesto California (Modesto Rifle Club) for a two-day match in May 2004. Let me say they are one of the greatest shooting groups I’ve ever met. I had two wonderful days of shooting. Competing against Modesto’s Schuetzen plain base, heavy bench rest and production shooters was a humbling experience. I did manage to struggle a few rungs up the ladder. My best 100-yard group was .654 inches. At 200 yards, I turned in a best group of 1.439 inches. I’m very happy with my project and the accuracy seems reasonable for the M77 shooting a 540-grain bullet. 􀀁

]]>Sun, 06 Aug 2017 12:00:21 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/8/103/the-.45-70-short-1.575The .416 X .300 Project Riflehttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/8/102/the-.416-x-.300-project-rifle Appearing in issue #175, May/June 2005 of the Fouling Shot, this article was written by CBA member, Ken Ewing. I started casting bullets when I was in my early 20’s, self taught at first, and they....
Appearing in issue #175, May/June 2005 of the Fouling Shot, this article was written by CBA member, Ken Ewing.

I started casting bullets when I was in my early 20’s, self taught at first, and they were not of great quality. Then a friend helped me to refine my efforts a bit. I joined the Cast Bullet Association a few years back and, concurrently, subscribed to the CB-L for a few years. Finally, I started learning how to cast bullets of decent quality and for specific purposes. All my cast bullets were for handgun at first. After joining the CBA I started casting for rifle and found it was a whole new game. Now I am able to put together bullets for a rifle that will withstand modest rifle velocities and not leave five pounds of lead in the barrel after 30 rounds. But this article is not about how to produce good rifle bullets from molten lead alloys. It is about a rifle specifically for use with big lead bullets.

Perhaps many of us who have been lifelong shooters are dedicated gun nuts, and have thought about building a rifle that uses a cartridge not currently produced. I certainly have many times, but other things prevailed. About five years ago I found that my status was about to change and would result in a little less “home supervision.” Now, I won’t encourage anyone to drastically alter their lives by becoming closely acquainted with procedures used by opposing legal counsel. But it happens. And to have something positive to think about I started planning that rifle I have always admired in .416 caliber.

The commercial .416’s are all too much rifle for the North American continent. And the likelihood of my going to Africa or the other exotic hunting destinations is on a par with teaching a pig to fly. So I was thinking in terms of a .416 in a somewhat less vigorously recoiling configuration. Then some fortuitous timing of events resulted in Remchester introducing their respective short .30 cartridges and rifles. I took a look at those two cases and decided the Winchester .300 WSM case was about what I wanted for powder room. Now I had a case, relatively easy to obtain, and not the cost of a new Mercedes for every 100.

Next I decided to make a bullet. I had already designed a bullet for the .358 caliber that worked well and felt making one similar in .416 was a good gamble. My design criteria for cast bullets might best be called “off-the-wall.” I have no engineering background and am not even the rankest amateur the in study of ballistics or aerodynamics. Thus, my bullets are made to “whack-’em hard.” Happily, Dan Lynch of Mountain Molds is willing to accommodate my goofy ideas and cuts moulds for me the way I would like them done. He is the only maker I know of who will do that. I asked him to make a double cavity mould in 350 grain for wheel weights and 2% tin with gas check, two lube grooves, and crimp groove. The as-cast diameter was to be .418” with a .600” nose length. The flat nose bullet was to have a long tangential ogive and 75% meplat. The finished mould cast exactly the way I envisioned the bullet. So now I had a bullet.

Perhaps it is a bit unusual to design a gun around a bullet but that is what I did. With the bullet and case in hand I decided that all I wanted to do was neck up the case to .416 and not change any other dimensions. Doing so left plenty of shoulder to headspace on and should work reasonably well in one of the short actions built to use the .300 WSM cartridge. A friend and I both obtained one of the Montana Rifle Co. stainless short actions. I took that action and a Pac-Nor stainless .416 barrel in #6 contour to build my rifle. To top it off I ordered a set of Ashley XS sights with aperture rear and white dot front with tritium insert. I had previously had a new barrel put on a used 788 I bought that the previous owner had converted to .358 with an oversize chamber. Since it wouldn’t shoot I put the new barrel on. John Noveske, Noveske Rifleworks did that job for me and I was pleased. So I shipped my collection of parts to John and told him what I wanted.


While the waiting was going on I had to decide on a stock. I expected the recoil to be substantial, so I wanted a composite stock. I spent a lot of time looking and finally decided on a Lone Wolf stock. Bob Culbertson has a nice little shop at his home and does most of the building himself. I looked at the samples he had on a dozen or so rifles and picked the one I wanted. It was a straight stock design with cheek piece, recoil pad and sling studs. After discussing the rifle with him he recommended I have the balance point at the front receiver ring and make the stock out of carbon fiber and Kevlar in epoxy resin.

.300 WSM, .416 x .300 WSM, .458 x .300 WSM

I started out by saying I wanted the finished rifle to be not less than nine nor more than 10 pounds. Again he suggested I not do that and instead let the finished weight be determined by the material needed to result in the balance point as previously stated. So we had an agreement.

He said he would need the rifle before he started building the stock. After I received the rifle from the gunsmith I took it over to Bob in Montana. A week later he called and said I could come and get the rifle.

My completed gun has a 20” barrel, 13-1/4” length of pull, and weighs exactly eight pounds. When I saw the weight my first thought was “oh my, what have I done...” Actually it wasn’t phrased exactly like that but the words printed will do to convey the idea. At eight pounds, 20” barrel, and balance between my hands the gun is easy to carry and mounts quickly and easily with the sights on line as I put my cheek to the comb.

It was time to get to working on load data. I am unaware of any other rifle that has been built as I designed this one to be done. Certainly no commercial rounds are available so there is no load data, either. I own a copy of QuickLoad. It is helpful for a general idea of what to expect. But I have found that it starts ringing alarm bells and putting up red flags when I enter data for a load I use in the .358 Winchester that is straight out of the latest Nosler manual and in the middle range. So I think QL is extremely conservative. Therefore I feel I am on fairly safe ground if I carefully use good loading tech-nique and pay attention to pressure signs.

To find a starting load I borrowed from Ken Waters’ Pet Loads compilation. Ken designed and built a .416 rifle using the .350 Remington Mag case, and subsequently published the load data for his .416 Express in the compilation. Ken also developed load data for the .416 Taylor. It just happens he used three of the same IMR powders for each cartridge. I checked the capacity of the Waters Express and the Taylor cases in QuickLoad and found that the Express was 15% less than my case and the Taylor was 7% more than my case. So after a bit of extrapolation I came up with equivalent loads for a 350 grain bullet with the three common powders. I then averaged the two starting loads for each powder and concluded I was erring on the safe side since my results would be skewed towards the Express cartridge.

It was time to do some loading. The smith who built my gun ordered a set of loading dies from Hornady. He took a Mauser action he has, chambered a stub barrel in his shop, and fire formed 100 rounds of new brass for me. So I had the proper set of dies to start with. But this is to be a cast bullet rifle. And the Hornady dies are a two die set. I obtained a die body from RCBS and sent it to friend Lloyd deVore who performs magic with a lathe. He turned out a perfect neck expanding die for cast bullets. Out to the shop and crank a loading press handle. With 20 rounds of loaded ammo I head for the range and set up my target. The moment of truth. Hmm, what is this uncontrollable shaking, am I developing a serious viral infection?

The first shot can only be described as a tremendous shock. None of my other rifles come even close to half the recoil of this one. An eight pound rifle with a 350 grain bullet propelled out the muzzle at approximately 2150 f.p.s. can only be “exciting” the first time it is shot. But then you begin to get accustomed to it and find it isn’t too bad. And it really isn’t too bad. Indeed, I have moved my velocity up to about 2300 since that first shot. And it isn’t at all painful, just a very stout shove. And it doesn’t even slam my thumb knuckle into my nose or cheekbone like so many heavy rifles do. So when I carry this rifle in the very steep mountains of north Idaho I will be glad I agreed to what the stockmaker suggested I do.

.There is still much work to do. My sight set has a too high front sight so I must change that to bring the point of aim up at 100 yards. My goal is to have +2” at 100 so I can reasonably expect the gun to shoot plus or minus two inches out to approximately 180 yards. I still have some problems to work out with proper seating depth so I have a good gas seal in the throat and the gun feeds well. The wide meplat makes that a bit of a challenge.

.358 Winchester (225 gr.), .416 x 300 (350 gr.)

I intend to do a lot more load development. I presently use 61 grains IMR 3031 for my load. I’m not at all sure 3031 will be the best powder for this cartridge until I have tried a lot of others. But all the things yet to be done are fun for those of us who enjoy experimenting with their guns.

I suppose it is fair to expect some to ask what I might want with a .416 rifle? The best answer I can give is I didn’t have one and always wanted one. Beyond that does anyone need a reason for having more than three rifles? And it gave me an excuse to build a rifle that doesn’t otherwise exist unless someone else had the same idea after looking at the .300 WSM case.

And how does it shoot? I just had the chance to put it on a bench last week. At 50 yards I got one three shot group that was tight enough it was difficult to discern three holes. They measured approximately .416 x .550. But 50 yards is not a good measure of how a rifle shoots. At 100 yards the bullets were dispersing because they weren’t seated out far enough to give me a good gas seal and the barrel had leaded a bit. Until I have done much more work on loads and getting a proper seal I won’t know how well the gun shoots. That can be another story at a different time.

And did it all go smoothly? No, it definitely did not!I found I had to backtrack several times and still have some loose ends to tie up and clean up. But I suppose that is the price one pays when he doesn’t have the skills or the tools to do all the work himself.

For now I am pleased to have realized a long desire to do something really different with a rifle that might not have been done by anyone else. And it seems to work in spite of me. So if that chance to hunt Alaska ever comes up I know I will have a rifle suitable to the hunt.

]]>Thu, 03 Aug 2017 03:06:49 GMThttp://castbulletassoc.org/blog/article/2017/8/102/the-.416-x-.300-project-rifle